Cyprus Welcomes Oil Companies for Exploration

Cyprus invited tenders for oil exploration and drilling rights off the coast of the Mediterranean island despite a growing row with Turkey. The launch of the licensing round came just two days after Ankara announced its own plans for oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean — a move which in turn triggered protests from Nicosia. Cyprus is offering licences for an area of about 70000km² off the coast of the island, which has been divided since Turkey invaded the northern third in 1974. Cyprus said earlier this week that five international companies had contacted the government to express interest in exploring the deposits below the seabed.